I Spit On Your Grave III: Vengeance Is Mine Blu-ray Review

A direct sequel to the first remake goes for less action in this revenge thriller

Central character Jennifer Hills (returning star Sarah Butler) is back from the first I Spit On Your Grave remake in I Spit On Your Grave III: Vengeance Is Mine. Haunted by the sexual assault she suffered in the first movie, this direct-to-video sequel features the victim once again dishing out her own brand of justice to abusive men. The sequel deviates from the franchise’s established formula of an assaulted woman taking revenge on her own rapist. What had been a snappy, action-based revenge thriller in the past becomes a slower thriller as Jennifer begins to lose her mind.

I Spit On Your Grave III: Vengeance Is Mine continues the story from the first remake, hammered home in a series of flashbacks early in the movie. Jennifer has changed her name to Angela and regularly attending a support group for rape victims. There she meets a woman that likes meting out punishment to abusive men, Marla (Jennifer Landon). The two victims soon become friends, sharing in their mutual hatred of abusive men.

Angela has become extremely distrusting of all men, even innocent men like a friendly co-worker that keeps trying to talk with her. Marla feeds her distrust, egging Angela on to violently take revenge on men. The movie starts out fairly slowly until someone in the support group is murdered, shattering the illusion of safety for Angela. That development brings a police detective into the picture, investigating the crime as he befriends Angela.

When the legal system fails Angela’s friends, her unhinged mind begins to make abusive men pay in horrific ways. If you have seen anything in this franchise before, it continues the tradition of a woman torturing men in the most graphic, gruesome manner possible. It is nice seeing Sarah Butler in the lead role but this sequel is much slower than preceding entries.

In this movie she becomes a man-hating killer that sees every man against her…

Unlike the original, a distinct tone of misandry comes from the script. Much of it is framed in private therapy sessions between Angela and her shrink. In the preceding films, the woman was taking her rightful justice on her actual rapist. This sequel revolves around Angela becoming mentally unstable and suffering from frequent visions of her committing acts of violence. In this movie she becomes a man-hating killer that sees every man against her, torturing them in premeditated acts of murder. That might be a logical development but makes for an uncomfortable movie.

I Spit On Your Grave III: Vengeance Is Mine is mildly entertaining and works on some level as the direct sequel to the first film. It does fail at taking advantage of being unrated, altering the franchise’s formula for a softer, tamer experience. Torture porn fans will likely demand more action than it actually delivers, while others will find this thriller somewhat predictable. It is slower with less action than the earlier films, preferring to dwell on the psychological ramifications underpinning sexual assault. That turns it into a disposable sequel likely to be forgotten.

Movie 

Panic @ 25:27

I Spit On Your Grave III: Vengeance Is Mine is the picture of perfection in 1080P resolution. This revenge thriller has been shot on RED digital cameras in pristine quality. Starz delivers a technically perfect Blu-ray transfer taken directly from the Digital Intermediate. The 91-minute main feature is encoded in AVC at 26.95 Mbps on a BD-25. The scope film is presented at 2.40:1 in gorgeous clarity.

Continuing the color scheme seen in the franchise’s earlier films, the muted palette is fairly bleak. Other than the muted primary colors the video has phenomenally sharp dimensionality. The digital transfer has the depth and fine detail of reference video. This certainly represents one of the better-looking RED productions on Blu-ray.

Video 

The moody revenge thriller has a pounding score and an atmospheric sound mix in 5.1 Dolby TrueHD. The lossless audio presentation has a big, sweeping sound with fine dynamics and perfect recording fidelity. It works well alongside the action and dialogue. Surround cues envelop the listener and pan across the entire sound field. This is definitely a strong surround track with solid bass and presence.

Starz provides optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles. They display in a white font, remaining inside the scope framing of the movie itself.

Audio 

These three movie trailers precede the main menu.

Trailers (05:24 in HD; 2.0 Dolby Digital) – Free Fall, In The Blood, Lost After Dark

Extras 

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Click on the images below for full resolution screen captures taken directly from the Blu-ray. Images have not been altered in any way during the process.